Transforming Hydropower: Integrating Flexibility, Ecosystem Health, and Societal Needs

The TIES project—Transforming Hydropower: Integrating Flexibility, Ecosystem Health, and Societal Needs—aims to redefine hydropower in Europe by developing an integrated innovation framework that enhances operational flexibility, climate-resilience, environmental sustainability, and societal acceptance. Hydropower remains a cornerstone of Europe’s renewable energy system, offering unmatched dispatchable storage and grid stability. However, aging infrastructure, climate change impacts, and ecological concerns demand a transformative approach.TIES will deliver seven technological and digital innovations—including optimized turbine designs, sediment management tools, erosion supervision systems, and AI-driven forecasting models—and two societal innovations based on a strong participatory action-research methodology tailored for the hydropower domain and on co-created societal KPIs, defined in the framework of the Just Energy Transition (JET). It will also integrate modular hydraulic and thermal refuges designed to mitigate hydropeaking and climate-induced thermal stress and embeds a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework to ensure societal readiness through participatory planning and inclusive decision-making. These solutions will be validated across four real-world hydropower case studies in Portugal and France, targeting Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 4–5.By aligning with EU priorities like the Green Deal, Fit for 55, and REPowerEU, TIES supports a just energy transition and contributes to climate resilience, ecological restoration, and public trust. The project will generate actionable tools, replication guidelines, and a roadmap for EU-wide deployment, positioning Europe as a global leader in sustainable hydropower innovation.